Tuesday, November 6, 2012

"True friends are
the ones who never leave your heart, even if they leave your life for a while.
Even after years apart, you pick up with them right where you left off, and
even if they die, they‘re never dead in your heart." - Unknown

We had a great time visiting our friends in Kansas! It has been six years since they moved, so it
was a long overdue visit to their beautiful new home. Stacy, Kurt and I met in 1993 when I started a new job with their employer. Stacy and I grew very close and our friendship flourished even after I decided to return to my previous employer. I always say the best thing that came from that job was meeting Stacy and Kurt and I was proud to be in their wedding in 1995. Their daughter Skylar was only 4 when they
moved away and she is growing into a beautiful young lady. All in all, we went to some fun places, had fun just kicking back, and we ate way too much good food!To the Nack family, thank you for your hospitality and we look forward to our next visit!!

As far as Mindy is concerned, all I can say is what a difference a trip makes!In my book, I wrote about our last trip in
2009 and how she struggled at the pet resort that I chose to board her
in.Communication was very poor and I
was upset and frustrated when my calls weren't being returned.The Wise family made this trip so much easier
on me. It was such a relief knowing I could send a quick text to find out how
she was doing and get a reply back fairly quickly.

I am pleased to report that Mindy did pretty well during our absence. As I expected, she was a bit out of sorts the
first day full day.Tammy sent me a note that
Mindy wouldn't come downstairs or eat her breakfast in the morning so she sat with her for a quite awhile to help soothe
her.The first evening Mark had a scare
when he went to pick her up for a walk and she wasn't protecting the front door
like he expected her to be. She didn't come when he called her, and he said he
started panicking thinking she somehow got out. He frantically went from room
to room looking for her. He went out to the backyard where she finally appeared
from the side of the house. She was happy to go for a walk, and then he took
her to his house afterwards where she got to eat dinner with Abbey and Stella.

As the days went by, Mindy spent longer and longer hours at the Wise
home. Surprisingly there was a little tiff between Mindy and Abbey which was quickly resolved.We think Abbey may have been a little jealous because Mindy was being showered with so much love and attention by her family. Abbey is used to being the Queen of her house and rightfully so! They said it was hard to take Mindy home in the evening because she she looked sad (Amy's word to describe her was melancholy). Jessie asked if she could spend the night, but they didn't want to further stress their dogs out or worry about a spat in the middle of the night. It wasn't something I expected anyways. I just felt so grateful that they were taking such great care of her.

A couple of days into our visit, I was thinking about Mindy
and missing her like crazy.I took out
my phone to send my nightly text to see how she did on her walk and if she ate
her dinner (she wasn’t eating very well).I was also going to ask if they would try and take a picture of her and
send it to me. She’s usually very camera-shy so I knew it may be tough. When I looked at my phone, there was a text
message from Amy with a picture of Mindy. I got teary-eyed when I saw the
picture, and I told Amy that it was if she was reading my mind!

On the flight home, I was excited about seeing Mindy. Maybe
I shouldn’t admit this, but I actually opened my own book on the Kindle so I could
see pictures of her! I also re-read the chapter of our last trip and how scared
and sad she looked when we picked her up at the pet resort. I wondered how she would
greet us this time in our home.

When we pulled into the driveway, I was full of
anticipation. Gregg and I entered the house and called her
name. She was under the table and there was a brief hesitation when she looked
at us. And then…...BAM! We were practically bowled over with her jumping, tornado twists and we were smothered with canine kisses! It was a wonderful welcome home.I even took a picture of our reunion.(Forgive the bags under my eyes. I blame too much Kansas fun and jet
lag!)

My sincerest thanks go out to the entire Wise family (Mark, Tammy, Amy, Jessie & also Mathew) for
going above and beyond what I asked of them in caring for Mindy. It is nice to have neighbors that we can also
call close friends!